october-2012

84—GW
M O R I T Z B L E I B T R E U
the orphan asks him: ‘Which
war?’ For Bleibtreu, this is an
important point: ‘The media
may talk about a “military
mission”, but when soldiers are
sent to drive through an area in
bulletproof vests and tanks, and
are involved in combat fi re, is it
not our duty to admit they are
being sent to war? It may not be
defi ned as war by the Geneva
Convention, but what else would
you call it?’
Bleibtreu speaks candidly
and is visibly aff ected by the
fi lm’s subject matter, all the
while admitting that prior to
making the fi lm, he shied away
from the topic of German
military action, because deep
down he is a pacifi st. So how did
Germany’s sunny star prepare
for the role of wheelchair-bound
veteran Rudi? ‘My acting is
based more on gut feeling than
method acting. But we were
lucky enough to have Felix on
the set – a guy who lost his leg in
an accident when he was 18 and
who was my double in the fi lm.
I was able to ask him questions,
and it was incredibly heartening,
the way he dealt with his
situation with such strength and
straightforwardness.’
Before the fi lm was released,
Til Schweiger went to
Afghanistan to show it to the
troops there, to catcalls from
certain quarters of the German
media, who dismissed it as a
marketing ploy. Bleibtreu is
quick to defend Schweiger:
‘That’s rubbish. Til did it because
it aff ects him personally. He has
an unbelievable passion that’s
really infectious. Everything he
does, he does with love and
conviction.’
Schweiger’s inclusion of his
children in his fi lms has also
attracted criticism. ‘Til does it
because it works,’ counters
Bleibtreu. ‘The story features a
15-year-old girl. Luna wanted to
play the part, and she did a good
Bleibtreu als RAF-Mitglied
Andreas Baader in Uli Edels Film
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Bleibtreu played the leader
of the 70s German militant
group RAF in The Baader
Meinhof Complex
‘I am a very critical person, and there’s a
lot of stuff I don’t like. But I’m basically
someone who wants to like things’
job. So why not?’ Bleibtreu also
believes that it’s Schweiger’s
way of spending more time with
his daughter, something that he,
as a family man, can relate to.
His son (with long-term
Swedish partner Annika) is
only four, but as a child
Bleibtreu also appeared before
the camera with his mother,
actress Monica Bleibtreu, who
died three years ago.
The actor seems annoyed by
the media’s negativity about
Schweiger’s success. He thinks
that fi nding it easy to be critical is
a typically German disease the
nation has to get over. ‘I am also a
very critical person, and there’s a
lot of stuff I don’t like. But I’m
basically someone who wants to
like things. What does it achieve,
always thinking everything is
crap? I guess it’s the affl iction of a
country stricken by its past. It’s
like Grouchy Smurf!
‘Til Schweiger has created his
own league here in Germany, and
he undertakes these projects
because he loves fi lm. It’s obvious
too, otherwise his fi lms wouldn’t
be so successful. But journalists
accuse him of being contrived.
They also said that about Bernd
Eichinger [producer of The
Baader Meinhof Complex] his
entire life. Germans just can’t
embrace their own. It seems to be
a class thing. The more
intelligent and elitist people are,
the less able they are to love
honestly and openly.’
Perhaps the same could be
said of the soldier narrative – that
it doesn’t feel right to see German
troops as heroes, despite their
achievements and sacrifi ces. In
this sense, Schutzengel off ers a
perspective that’s lacking in the
German media.
Going forward, would
Bleibtreu also like to direct and
produce fi lms one day, like
Schweiger? ‘Not produce, but I’d
like to try my hand at directing.
I’m sure I will some day, but I
think I still need more time, and
if I did, I wouldn’t be able to act
and produce at the same time…
no, I’m too lazy for that.’
Despite his professions of
slothfulness, he’s actually a very
busy man. In addition to
Schutzengel, Bleibtreu will
appear in fi ve other fi lms this
year alone, including Die Quelle
des Lebens (Source of Life)
directed by Oskar Roehler (who
also directed Bleibtreu in Agnes
und seine Brüder (Agnes and his
Brothers) in 2004). He’s also
starring in the comedy My
Friend Vijay, alongside Patricia
Arquette, as well as playing the
lead roles in Die Schwarzen
Brüder (The Black Brothers) and
Das Engelsgesicht (The Angel
Face). Which doesn’t leave much
time for solo projects.
So does Bleibtreu believe in
guardian angels? ‘I don’t believe
in the conventional idea that
everyone has one, no. But I am a
believer. Not in a biblical or
Christian sense, but I often have
moments where I think that
there is something up there,
swirling around in the ether
between heaven and earth.’
Rex